Assessment of Counseling Services: How Does Counseling Fit Into The - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Assessment of Counseling Services:

How Does Counseling Fit Into The Mission Of Student Affairs?

Perry C. Francis, Ed.D., LPC, ACS

ACCA Representative to CAS Professor of Counseling Eastern Michigan University

pfrancis@emich.edu

ACCA National Conference February 24, 2018 Charlotte, NC

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How many of you…

• Work in a counseling center?
• Work in another student affairs area?
• Work somewhere else at your institution?
• Have looked at the CAS Standards for at least one functional area?
• Have participated in a department/program review process using CAS

standards?

• Have used CAS standards for other purposes?

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Official Participant Outcomes

• To list and describe the CAS Standards & Guidelines for use in

analysis of College Counseling services.

• To analyze CAS Standards and functional areas (College Counseling)

for use in creating plans for improvement, expansion, or demonstrating efficacy of services.

• To use CAS standards to design tools for data collection to discuss

and explain impact of services on student body.

• To create or develop assessment tools aligned with CAS Standards to

create outcome studies for development of strategic goals.

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CAS Mission

• The mission of the Council for the Advancement of Standards in

Higher Education (CAS) is to promote the improvement of programs and services to enhance the quality of student learning and development.

• CAS is a consortium of professional associations who work

collaboratively to develop and promulgate standards and guidelines and to encourage self-assessment.

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CAS Overview

• Based in philosophy of self-assessment
• 41 member associations
• 43 sets of functional area standards

– Developing standards that are cross functional (have two or more departments)

• Standards of practice informed by wide range of professionals and approved

by consensus

• Self-assessment guides (SAGs) for program self-study
• 30+ years of history; span across higher education

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Uses of CAS Standards

• Credibility, Accountability, Improvement

– Program & service improvement – Measures of quality and effectiveness – Measures of impact on learning and development – Design of new programs & services – Institutional self-studies – Preparation for accreditation or program review

• Staff development
• Academic preparation

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Standards & Guidelines

Understanding Standards and Guidelines

Guidelines

Indispensible Requirements Clarify & Amplify Standards Achievable by any & all programs of quality Guide enhanced practice beyond essential function Appear in Bold type Appear in light-faced type Use verbs Must & Shall Use verbs Should & May

Standards

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12 Component Parts

• 1. Mission
• 2. Program
• 3. Organization & Leadership
• 4. Human Resources
• 5. Ethics
• 6. Law, Policy, & Governance
• 7. Diversity, Equity, & Access
• 8. Institutional & External Relations
• 9. Financial Resources
• 10. Technology
• 11. Facilities & Equipment
• 12. Assessment & Evaluation

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General & Specialty Standards

General Standards

• Common across all functional areas
• For Example:
• Programs & services must develop,

disseminate, implement, and regularly review their mission.

Specialty Standards

• Address issues specific to the

functional area

• For Example:
• The primary mission of career services

is to assist students and other designated clients through all phases

• f their career development.

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Student Learning & Development: Part of the Program

• Programs and services must:

– Assess relevant and desirable student learning and development – Provide evidence of impact on outcomes – Articulate contributions to or support of student learning and development in the domains specifically assessed – Articulate contributions to or support of student persistence and success – Use evidence gathered through this process to create strategies for improvement of programs and services

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Outcome Domains

• Knowledge Acquisition, Construction, Integration, and Application
• Cognitive Complexity
• Intrapersonal Development
• Interpersonal Competence
• Humanitarianism and Civic Engagement
• Practical Competence

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Domain Example: Intrapersonal Development

Dimensions

• Realistic self-appraisal, self-understanding, and self-respect
• Identity development
• Commitment to ethics and integrity
• Spiritual awareness

Examples of Learning Outcomes

• SELF: Assesses, articulates, and acknowledges personal skills, abilities, and growth areas; uses self-knowledge to make decisions

such as those related to career choices; articulates rationale for personal behavior; seeks and considers feedback from others; critiques and subsequently learns from past experiences; employs self-reflection to gain insight; functions without need for constant reassurance from others; balances needs of self with needs of others

• IDENTITY: Integrates multiple aspects of identity into a coherent whole; recognizes and exhibits interdependence; recognizes

and exhibits interdependence in accordance with cultural and personal values; identifies and commits to important aspects of self

• INTEGRITY: Incorporates ethical reasoning into action; explores and articulates the values and principles involved in personal

decision- making; acts in congruence with personal values and beliefs; exemplifies dependability, honesty, and trustworthiness; accepts personal accountability

• SPIRITUAL: Develops and articulates personal belief system; understands roles of spirituality in personal and group values and

behaviors; critiques, compares, and contrasts various belief systems; explores issues of purpose, meaning, and faith

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Standards & Outcomes

• Standards serve a purpose in

leading toward intentional

• utcomes
• CAS identifies 6 learning and

developmental outcome domains

• Each functional area either directly

influences, contributes to, or makes outcome possible

• Some outcomes may be more

salient to a program/service than

• thers, but all should be on radar
• Critically important to think first
• f desired outcomes & then design

programs that will achieve the

• utcome
• Standards, outcomes, assessment

lead us to accountability

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Sharing Perspectives

• With 2-3 other people…

– What are your experiences with using CAS? – What are the benefits? – What are the challenges? – What are your questions?

• Report out…

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Self-Assessment The CAS Perspective

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Program Evaluation

• Is the program or service functioning effectively to achieve its

mission?

• What evidence is available to support the determination?
• How is evidence used to make program decisions?

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Student Outcomes Assessment

• What is the effect of our work on students?
• How are they different as a result of interacting with our programs

and services?

• How do we know?
• How do we demonstrate their learning or development?
• What and how do we measure?

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Balanced Assessment

• Current attention focuses on
• utcomes

– Shift from industrial e economy focusing on inputs, consistency of product – Shift to the infor

• rmation
• n e

econ

• nom
• my

focuses on outcomes, fit of product to consumer (Art Levine)

• Important to know both sides:

– Are our programs & services

• rganized and run effectively to

achieve the intended outcomes? – Are the intended outcomes achieved? – In counseling, are we focused on

• utcomes for individuals or for our
• verall program/service?

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What if…?

• What if we just focused on
• utcomes?

– If we always achieve the intended

• utcomes, there’s no problem – we

keep doing what we’re doing. – If we don’t achieve the intended

• utcomes, and all that we have

assessed is those outcomes, how would we decide what to do differently?

• If we assess both

programs/services and the actual

• utcomes, we can make more

informed determinations about what needs to be changed or improved.

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Where to Start??

• Depends on where you are already
• Start where you can
• Build to a full cycle over time

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You Don’t Have To Do It All

Barham & Scott, 2006

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What is the Context?

• Institution mission
• Institution/division strategic plan
• Division/department mission
• Professional standards

MAPPING How do t these connect t to each o

• ther?

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Nature of the Unit

• Barham & Scott (2006) suggest that we need to consider the

nature of the unit:

– Service – Learning – Development

• How does that inform our work?

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Identifying Outcomes

• What should be the result of our work?

– Program outcomes

• e.g., % of students reached

– Operational outcomes

• e.g., reduced wait-list time to appointment

– Student outcomes

• e.g., intrapersonal development/integrity/ethical decision-making

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Identifying Strategies

• What will we do intentionally to try to achieve these outcomes?

– Outreach/programming (active & passive) – Policies & procedures – Environmental factors – Short term & long term

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How Will We Know?

• Realize that not every outcome

needs to be measured, not every

• utcome can be measured, & not

every outcome should be measured

• Design intended outcomes &
• bjectives to be assessed so that

they are measurable

• Decide how to measure them as

you are designing the intervention

• Carry out your plan & use the

results to improve the next cycle

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Self-Study Overview

• Purpose & scope of study is

defined (do all or just some…)

• Self-study team is identified &

trained

• Evaluative evidence is collected

and reviewed

• Self-study is conducted; ratings are

compiled

• Discrepancies are identified
• Appropriate actions are

determined

• Special actions for program

enhancement are recommended

• Action plan is developed and

communicated

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Summary

• CAS is all about professionals coming together to promote…
• Standa

dards a s and g guidel delines es to design quality programs & services

• Targeted learning and developmental outcomes
• Self

lf-assessm ssessmen ent of both programs/services and student

• utcomes

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Developing Your Plan

• Institution/division context?

– What is most relevant & important?

• Your unit

– What is the primary purpose/overall objective? – What intended outcomes are in place? – What documentation do you have? – How do you use it? What have you changed?

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Developing Your Plan

• History

– What kind of program review has been conducted?

• Context for Review

– Is there an institutional expectation or system of program review?

• Timing

– Where are you on the accreditation cycle?

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Developing Your Plan

• What is your area of greatest need?

– Comprehensive assessment plan – Program evaluation – Establishment of intended outcomes – Intentional program development – Measuring actual outcomes – Use of assessment results – Other?

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A Few Final Thoughts

• Don’t ignore the reality & usefulness of retrospective sense-

making

• Even if you have not been engaged in assessment formally, you

have probably been using the principles in your work

• Figure out how what you have been doing fits with what you want

to be doing, and then fill in the rest of the plan

• Just start…

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Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education www.cas.edu One Dupont Circle NW , Suite 300 Washington, DC 20036 Perry C. Francis, Ed.D., LPC, ACS

ACCA Representative to CAS Professor of Counseling Representative to CAS pfrancis@emich.edu

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